snapshots

Taking out the trash and recycling tonight, @krismastree81 pointed out a wiggling skink beside our garage glue trap. When I put a stick down to shoo it away, we realized it was not a skink – it was a garter snake, and it was already definitely stuck.

Google told us to oil it free, so I grabbed the canola and doused it, then gently worked it free from the tail forward with a plastic spoon.

It was slow going at first, and the snake looked skeptical. (Fair enough, it was my first time, too.) But as soon as about an inch was off, snake started pulling more — and almost dragged the trap out of my hand! They are solid muscle.

We kept working together, adding more oil, and kk brought us paper towels to lay over the trap to it wouldn’t reattach itself with all its twisting.

Soon, it pulled free and slithered off along the foundation and curled up against the stoop to recuperate. I put out a shallow cup of water nearby and wished it well.

Some people think snakes are slimy, and they’re usually wrong. Tonight, however, there IS one very slimy snake in my neighborhood, and does it ever have a story to tell!